By Fr Chryso Pieris –

Fr Chryso Pieris SJ

Malimawa has undertaken to Change the System. It was their political message and it was their political goal. The people have overwhelmingly approved it and have given them immense political power, surprising even the NPP (National People’s Power). Changing the System will require lots of energy input as it goes against the natural inclination to disorder and death, which is entropy. Negentropy or negative entropy is the tiring and difficult push against the natural flow of the current or swimming upstream.

Before going further let us understand what entropy is. It is a scientific concept. It is the second law of thermodynamics. The second law states that in any natural process the degradation of the matter and energy in the universe descends to an ultimate state of inert uniformity. Entropy is the general trend of the universe toward death and disorder.

Negative entropy means that something is becoming less disordered. In order for something to become less disordered, energy must be used. This will not occur spontaneously. A messy, or disordered, room will not become clean, or less disordered, on its own. Similarly, a disordered nation will not become orderly and clean spontaneously. Lots of energy or lots of hard work and sacrifices are needed.

Both AKD (Anura Kumara Dissanayake) and the NPP know that power also inclines to entropy or power corrupts, it degenerates and destroys itself and its matrix. That is why things are moving rather slowly in the present government. They are being very careful about details of governance strictly adhering to FR and AR. This meticulous attention to the legality of their decisions, be free from past prejudices, be relevant and practical keeping isms at bay, keep their hands always clean and be open to criticism fair or foul demand sacrifices (patience) and lots of hard work. This input of energy is the negentropy needed for the System Change.

In the sphere of governance, Malimawa did the best they can and that is visibly satisfactory. Getting rid of ministerial perks, privileges and pensions is the first step they have successfully achieved. The 159 were highly motivated though it cost them sacrifices. It is not surprising that the opposition is hurting and humiliatingly angry about everything NPP says or does. They truly feel like fish out of water.

Secondly, embedding negentropy in the administration is not going to be easy. Though the government services voted 80% with the NPP, yet they are not adequately motivated like the NPP MPs (Members of Parliament). It will need lots of energy input to bring order out of the present disorder (corruption and inefficiency) in the government sector. Examples of the disorder are limitless. The health sector, the police etc. are public examples of this anomaly. The top administration of the CEB is black like coal and slick like oil. No wonder they are allergic to sunlight. Cleaning these is going to be a Herculean task. The COPE (Committee On Public Enterprises) is finding an endless list of irregularities in public enterprises and one is at a loss where to start cleaning them up. But the NPP is determined to clean them up to reach their goal of a rich country and beautiful living.

Thirdly, applying negentropy to the private sector is also the responsibility of the government. It will be done indirectly. Take the doctors doing private practice. If they are working in private hospitals during the government hours, they should be penalized. Some of the more expensive private hospitals are so greedy (of course they maximize profits, health of the citizens is their least concern.) they have financially wiped out some families. Or take the lawyers (a majority of them private practitioners.) who never give a receipt for the money they extract from the poor litigators and like camels live on dates. Teachers in schools who are also tuition wallahs must be inspected to see if they are teaching properly in schools. Private traders and rice millers must be strictly monitored for the standard of their goods and prices. All these willy nilly must be made to clean up their act to fall in line with the grand national negentropic project of System Change.

Finally, every patriotic citizen must realize that this is the “Clean Sri Lanka” concept in action. Each and every one must therefore joyfully accept it and offer his share of sweat. The minimum they can do is observe the Pan Sil and the Ten Commandments our religious leaders gave us millennia ago. But those who are young and young at heart who want to do something more can concretize the values of Aragalaya 22. The negentropy of the System Change or “Clean Sri Lanka” is the continuation of that beautiful and unforgettable Aragalaya.

It is good to remind ourselves of the three values that emerged at the famous Gotagogama. The first one is “Nirpakshika”. One is not a yes-man of anybody, any party or any ideology, one is a free and independent individual with a mind of his own. The worth of each and every citizen in this country is invaluable. As Abraham Lincoln declared in Gettysburg – all men are created equal.

This leads us to the second value of Aragalaya, “Nirprachanda”. Fratricide is abolished. All are brothers and sisters. Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and other communities are one people, in one country. We are Sri Lankans, in the Malimawa jargon “Eka Mitata”.

Finally, Aragalaya identified itself as “Aadaraya”. This is the energy that drove the Aragalaya, its negentropy. And it will be the energy that will drive “Clean Sri Lanka” and change the system. The last word is that negentropy is love. Only love can put order where there is chaos, bring peace where there is violence, give food where there is hunger, bring law and order where there is injustice, bring unity where there is division, bring hope where there is despair, bring joy where there is sadness, bring life where there is death.